Notre-Dame de l'Assomption de Châtre (Saint-Brice)
The former abbey church of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption de Châtre of Saint-Brice is one of the most important church buildings in the Saintonge . The building, which has been vacant for decades, has been registered as a Monument historique since 1948 .
location
The church stands - lonely and isolated and surrounded by fields and trees - in the territory of the commune of Saint-Brice . From Cognac , the church is about 7.5 kilometers (driving distance) in an easterly direction.
Building history
Very little is known about the history of the building: In the 11th century, an Augustinian canon monastery was founded on the site of today's church - so the term collegiate church would actually be more appropriate than the term abbey , which has become common in literature. However, the main parts of today's church building originate from the 12th century and, with its interior, which is covered by four domes in a row, follows regional building traditions. In the 13th or 15th century, the church received a flat Gothic choir closure . The abbey was already affected by the Huguenot Wars (1562–1598). During the French Revolution , the building was sold as a national good ( Bien national ); the convent buildings and the cloister were demolished - miraculously the church was preserved. In the 19th century, the church was used as a pottery and ceramics manufacture.
architecture
West facade
Since there are no towers of any kind, the west facade is the most striking component - it is framed vertically by two high columns with capitals and is horizontally divided into three levels plus a small gable field. The lower level shows a three-part structure based on a triumphal arch scheme, consisting of a central portal and two smaller side portals. The portal is designed as a multi-tiered archivolt portal and therefore - like most churches in the region - has no tympanum ; No figurative decorations are used, but the portal ends with a multi-pass arch , which perhaps reflects suggestions from Islamic architecture (cf. Celles-sur-Belle ). The vegetal capital decor is taken up and continued on the wall surfaces of the lateral blind arches.
A five-arched arcade position is located above a cornice with an underlying console frieze - the middle arcade contains a high and recessed west window, accompanied by set columns, which is framed by double side blind arcades with barely noticeable pointed arches.
The nine slender blind arcades on the third level, which rests on a cornice with an underlying console frieze, are all of the same height. All the arches of the west facade are covered with small arches, giving them more plasticity. An undecorated gable field completes the building at the top.
inner space
The nave, which is usually closed because of the risk of collapse, is vaulted with a series of domes - an element that can also be found in other churches in the area ( Périgueux , Souillac , Saint-Émilion, etc.). The shape of the chancel window from the 15th (?) Century corresponds to the simple geometric tracery of the north French high Gothic - it has four lanes and three pyramidal arranged quadruples.
See also
The Romanesque church of St-Martin de Gensac-la-Pallue is only about 7.5 kilometers away on the south bank of the Charente and, as a domed church , is quite comparable in architectural terms.
literature
- Thorsten Droste : Poitou: Western France between Poitiers and Angoulême - the Atlantic coast from the Loire to the Gironde. DuMont, Cologne 1999, ISBN 3-7701-4456-2 , p. 232f.
Web links
- Church of Châtre - photos + information ( memento of September 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (French)
Individual evidence
- ^ Saint-Brice, Église de Châtre in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
Coordinates: 45 ° 41 ′ 38.3 " N , 0 ° 15 ′ 26.7" W.